A Brief Look at Kitten Vaccinations

When it comes to keeping your cat healthy, getting the proper vaccinations is incredibly important to ensure that they live happy and long lives. Vaccinations are split between two different categories: core and non-core vaccinations. Despite their differences, all vaccinations are helpful in preventing disease, and making sure that your cat gets the shots they need helps safeguard them against threats to their health in the future.

Core Kitten Vaccinations

Feline rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus, and feline panleukopenia are three diseases that are ubiquitous in nature and are found everywhere in the general cat population. Together, these three diseases make up the core vaccinations for kittens, and generally come in a combination shot that protects against all three diseases. The schedule for these vaccination shots can begin as early as 6 weeks of age, and are administered every 3 to 4 weeks until the kitten is 16 weeks of age or older. However, to avoid over-vaccination, often times these shots will be administered at 8 weeks of age, followed booster shots by 12 weeks and 16 weeks old.

Another core kitten vaccination is a rabies shot. Rabies is a fatal disease that affects many different animals. Kittens can generally receive rabies shots as early as 12 weeks of age.

Non-Core Vaccination

While these diseases are not as ubiquitous as the core diseases of kittens, being careful never hurts your kitten. Non-core vaccinations include feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline infectious peritonitis, chlamydophila felis, and feline giardia. Of these diseases, feline leukemia (FeLV) is recommended to all kittens due to the viral nature of the disease. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is another disease that should be vaccinated against due to the incurability of the disease once contracted.